Huntsman Larry Pitts with the foxhounds of the Potomac Hunt (MD) / Karen Kandra Wenzel photo
Professional huntsman Larry Pitts was recognized at the recent MFHA Staff Seminar held in Lexington, Kentucky, April 12 to 13, 2014. After a dinner for the two hundred attendees, Larry was presented with the annual Ian Milne Award for his exceptional contributions to the sport of foxhunting.
While the sport of foxhunting may, as many say, revolve around the foxhound, I suggest that the heart and soul of our sport is the professional huntsman. Professionals like Larry preserve the superlative foxhound bloodlines for breeding, and they maintain the standards for the care and training of hounds in kennel and the handling of hounds in the field. All hunts—whether high-octane or small farmer’s pack—and all huntsmen—whether professional or amateur—benefit from their breeding acumen and their examples of practice.
Here is a real-life example of how the professional huntsman exerts his or her influence upon our sport in kennels far beyond his own. Epp Wilson, MFH and huntsman of the Belle Meade Hunt (GA), reached back to his teen years and his first meeting with Larry Pitts in this vignette.
“I was about sixteen years old and whipping-in to my father,” Epp recalled. “Larry was hunting hounds at Eglinton and Caledon at that time. He had come down from Toronto with Gus Schickedanz, one of the Masters, and they came out hunting with us at Belle Meade one day. My father took Mr. Gus up front with him and paired Larry off with me to whip-in.
“At that time our hunt was only a few years old. A tremendous amount of progress had been made as far as landowners and building the membership. There were lots of good horses and good horsemanship. We had built over a hundred coops and cut fifty miles of trails. We were having a lot of fun and making a lot of new friends in this wonderful sport. What we had not done was fine-tune the pack.
“We were just starting to hear about deer-proofing a pack of hounds. If, after drawing blank for hours for fox, hounds happened to open on deer, we would let hounds run. We didn’t know any better. Everyone was having a good time galloping after hounds, and that’s all most of them wanted.
“That day we drew all our best coverts and drew blank. Finally hounds opened. We were very relieved. But it was on deer. The field did not see it and we let them run. We did not cheer them on, but we did not stop them. Larry looked at me and said, ‘I heard you all did that.’
“Then he turned his horse and walked away, giving me a parting shot over his shoulder. ‘You can do better,’ he said.
“Boy, was I angry at Larry. I was so mad I couldn’t even speak to him. I was as mad as I had ever been in my life.
“It took me several days to process it all. Slowly I began to understand what he was telling me. As much as I hated to admit it, I realized he was right. He was challenging me to face facts. He was challenging me to do it right. He was challenging me to put my money where my mouth was. He was challenging me to look in the mirror and into my soul and admit that we were cheating (by running deer) even if the members did not know. He was saying, ‘If you love this great sport as much as you say you do, then learn more about it and do it right.’ I saw that there’s a right way and a wrong way, and for Larry there was only one choice. His words haunted me.
“In time, we—the Belle Meade Staff—resolved that we owed it to ourselves, our members, and our sport to do it right. I credit Larry with teaching me that lesson.
“Not only is it more honorable to deer-proof the hounds, it is in accordance with the MFHA’s Code of Hunting Practices. The quality of our hunting is way higher than it was before. And we got a bonus we did not expect. It is a lot more fun doing it right and having nothing to hide or pretend about. It is fun to interact with other foxhunters anywhere in America—anyplace in the whole wide world—and know that we are truly doing things right…know that we are living up to the written standards of the MFHA and the unwritten standards and traditions of this great sport!
“It was many years before I saw Larry again. I shook his hand heartily and began to remind him of the incident. He smiled and stopped me. ‘I remember,’ he said. I thanked him for giving me the kick in the butt I needed just when I needed it. These days we see each other at the Virginia Foxhound Show and greet each other warmly. We have a bond. It is the bond of hounds and foxhunting and truth.
“We have invited him to judge our annual performance trials when he can, and he has promised to come. Perhaps after he gets his knee fixed.
“I am lucky to have known and hunted with the late Ian Milne, the namesake for this annual award, and I am more than pleased that Larry Pitts won it this year,” Epp Wilson concludes.
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Larry Pitts has served as huntsman for the Potomac Hunt (MD) for thirty-four seasons. Before coming to Potomac, he was huntsman for the Eglinton and Caledon Hunt (ON) for four seasons during the Mastership of the late and renowned Major Charles Kindersley.
Larry is recognized as one of the leading breeders of the American foxhound in North America. Despite the dangerously shrinking gene pool of pure American bloodlines—a serious challenge to the breeding of top hounds—he continues to garner championships at the hound shows. In 2007, the MFHA Centennial Year, his stunning dog hound, Potomac Jefferson, was judged Champion American Foxhound and Grand Champion Foxhound at both the Virginia Foxhound Show and the Bryn Mawr Hound Show.
Larry’s award is a recognition truly earned.
Posted April 25, 2014